Coaxial cables are commonly used in various areas of industry, such as the cable television industry, to carry electrical signals. Coaxial cable connectors are typically used to terminate the coaxial cable to interconnect cables or to connect cables to various components. Once such coaxial connector particularly used for hard line coaxial cable is shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,123, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
As is well known, a coaxial cable includes an elongate center conductor capable of transmitting electrical signals therethrough. The center conductor is typically surrounded by a dielectric covering. An outer conductor is positioned about the dielectric covering and a cable jacket surrounds the outer conductor. The cable is prepared for termination by removing a portion of the cable jacket at the distal end thereof, folding back the outer conductor and stripping away the dielectric covering from the center conductor thereby exposing an elongate extent of the center conductor. The prepared cable is inserted into a coaxial connector so that the center conductor can be electrically connected to another cable or component to effectively transmit the electrical signal therethrough.
In most instances and as shown in the above referenced incorporated patent, a pin terminal is used terminate the center conductor to allow ease of interconnection of the center conductor to another connector. The pin terminal is an elongate member having a pin at one end and a cavity at the other end. The center conductor is inserted into the cavity where mechanical and electrical engagement therebetween is achieved. In order to facilitate the electrical engagement, the cavity in the pin terminal may include a contact having inwardly directed cantilevered fingers for mechanical and electrical engagement with the inserted center conductor. The cantilevered fingers function as deflectable beams to allow insertion of the center conductor therethrough.
As may be appreciated, quiet often during use and handling, and especially where the connector may be subject to temperature variations during use, the spring engagement between the cantilevered fingers and the center conductor may not be maintained consistently. Moreover, variations in the size of the components used may result in inconsistent contact engagement with the center conductor.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a pin terminal assembly which provides an increase in engagement force between the contacts supported in the pin terminal and the inserted center conductor.